WHAT WE DO

The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB) provides services for people of all ages who have mental illness, substance use disorders, and/or developmental disabilities. The CSB also provides early intervention services for infants and toddlers who have developmental delays.

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CSB News

The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB) and the NEXUS committee invite all to be part of an important community conversation about strengthening teen resilience. NEXUS is a committee of the Advisory Board to CSB’s Joe and Fredona Gartlan Center.
The event takes place on Monday, March 5, 2018, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Fairfax County Public Schools’ Virginia Hills Center, 6500 Diana Lane, Alexandria, 22310.
Scott Braband, Ed. D., Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools, will kick off the event and share remarks on “Today’s State of Students K-12: Psychological Readiness for Life and Lifelong Learning.”
The forum features keynote presenter Erin D. Berman, Ph. D., clinical psychologist at the National Institute of Mental Health, who will address childhood anxieties, how to help change anxious thinking, how computer technologies are transforming the understanding of anxiety and treatment options now available for children/youth.
Daryl Washington, Acting Executive Director of the CSB, will facilitate a panel of local experts addressing prevention efforts, youth mental wellness, immigrant and multicultural issues, and what attendees can do to learn more, get involved and help strengthen teen resilience and build a community of hope and healing.
Register today. All are welcome; parents, professionals, community members. (3.0 Contact hours will be available.)
Fairfax County is committed to nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in all county programs, services and activities. Reasonable accommodations will be provided upon request. For information, call 703-324-7006, TTY 711.

"Wellness Week" events at Centreville High School using funding from a previous mini-grant award.The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB) is offering mini-grants for youth-led projects to reduce stigma among their peers, using funds from a suicide prevention grant from the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.
These mini-grants will fund youth-planned, youth-led projects within Fairfax County, Fairfax City, and Falls Church City. Proposals are due February 27, 2018. Review the Request for Proposals to find out how to apply, and email ncs-prevention@fairfaxcounty.gov with questions.
Read about previous grant awardees' projects.

Tools used by Claudette Wells, a CSB Behavioral Health Specialist, for REVIVE training, a new offering of CSB’s jail services.Through a strong partnership with the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, jail-based clinicians from the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB) are now offering inmates training on how to reverse the impacts of opioid overdose. So far, there have been three classes in which about a dozen inmates have learned how to save lives. Upon release from the Adult Detention Center, the newly trained individual is equipped with a single dose of naloxone (Narcan®), along with a REVIVE information kit, just in case they need it for themselves, their family members or their friends. Naloxone is a fast-acting medication that can reverse opioid overdose.
This new effort is part of an overall Fairfax County effort to train more people how to recognize signs of opiate overdose and increase access to naloxone.
CSB’s Director of Jail-Based Services, Marissa Farina-Morse, said that inmates with opioid or heroin addictions are most at risk during the first weeks after being released from jail. “Someone with a heroin or opioid use disorder who was accustomed to getting high before they were incarcerated may try to use drugs again when they are released. This is devastating and can cause overdose because their tolerance is lower,” she said. “With the new collaborative, we have a window of opportunity to educate and offer high-risk individuals an extra tool they may need to stay alive. Community reentry following incarceration is challenging. We need to eliminate as many barriers as possible for those who are seeking help and who want to try to live drug-free once they are out of jail,” said Farina-Morse. “We urge family members, friends, and colleagues of these individuals to take the training, too. It can absolutely make a difference between life and death. We continue to hear many stories about lives that are saved with this training.”
“One of my top priorities for the Sheriff’s Office is inmate reentry,” said Sheriff Stacey Kincaid. “We offer a variety of educational and life skills programs as a constructive way for inmates to better themselves during their incarceration and prepare them for future success once they are released. Providing health care is also a critical component of incarceration and discharge preparation. Our nurses set up a formal link with community providers, and inmates leave jail with a two-week to 30-day supply of needed medication. Equipping inmates with naloxone and REVIVE training for their release is another step in helping to improve their chances for successful reentry and reduce the recidivism rate,” said Kincaid.
The CSB also offers free one-hour monthly REVIVE training at their Merrifield Center, as well as other community sites.
In the U.S., overall, there were 60,000 overdose deaths in 2017 and more than 100 in Fairfax County.
To learn more about actions underway to educate and combat opioid use disorder in Fairfax County, read the Fairfax County Opioid Task Force Plan.

Are YOU interested in developmental disability services in Fairfax County and the Cities of Fairfax and Falls Church? Do you want to connect with others who want to work toward creating a more integrated community?
You are invited to join the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board's new “Welcoming Inclusion Network” (WIN) at our inaugural meeting:
Monday, February 26, 2018
6:30 to 8 p.m.Fairfax County Government Center
Conference Rooms 2 &amp; 3
Participants in last year's "Summer of Engagement" series wrap-up session.Please join us as we bring together a diverse group of stakeholders who are interested in, and committed to, advancing employment and day services for individuals with developmental disabilities. Together we will seek to address the many challenges facing individuals with disabilities, and work together to increase community integration and inclusion.
Last year’s collaborative workshops identified the need for an ongoing dialogue and a desire for creative service options matched to individuals with varied interests and support needs. The goal of the WIN collaborative is to build opportunities for increased information and resource sharing, ensure service equity and efficiency, and boost employment opportunities through existing and new service models.
Together, we can encourage, support and improve inclusion and integration in our community.
When inclusion happens, we ALL WIN.
Be part of promoting and creating winning solutions in the year ahead.
Get a printable flier for the meeting.

Thursday, January 25, 2018
National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week January 22-28
Are you or your teens concerned about underage use of drugs and alcohol? Do you want to learn more about the facts and what you can to help create substance-free schools and communities? Attend the Fairfax Youth Council meeting, Thursday, January 25, at the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board's Merrifield Center, 8221 Willow Oaks Corporate Drive, Fairfax, at 7 p.m.
The Youth Council invites teens who want to make a difference and to help spread the facts of the impact of a lifestyle that involves drugs and alcohol.
These students:
Lead school-based prevention activities
Develop their leadership and advocacy skills
Earn volunteer and service hours
Are recognized with certificates for achievement and leadership
Are actively engaged members of the community
Early use of drugs and alcohol cause impairment and can have long-term consequences on a teen brain. Share information during National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week, January 22-28, to help educate youth and young adults on the risks of underage use. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse:
Starting drugs during youth effects how bodies and brains grow and increases your chances of becoming addicted during adulthood.
Environmental exposure (family or friends) to drugs or early alcohol use can be an influence. Feeling lonely, succumbing to peer pressure, or intrigued by celebrities who use are some risk factors. Develop strategies to cope with these pressures.
Drug abuse runs strongly in families; be aware of your family history and the risks.
Get involved; stay informed.
Join the Drugs and Alcohol Chat Day on January 22 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Take the National Drug &amp; Alcohol IQ Challenge Quiz (also available in Spanish).
Learn about the Fairfax County Youth Survey; discuss the survey results with your teen.
Join the Fairfax Youth Council; learn more at the January 25 meeting or contact CSB's Amanda Pusey for more information.
Individuals of any age seeking help for a mental health and/or substance use concern, may walk in, without appointment, to the CSB’s Merrifield Center and speak with a staff member in person, rather than initiating contact over the phone. For more information, contact the CSB at 703-383-8500 (M-F, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., extended hours for youth until 7 p.m. on Tuesdays). In an emergency, call CSB Emergency Services at 703-573-5679 (answered 24/7).

About the Health & Human Services System

This is agency is a part of the Fairfax County Health & Human Services System (HHS). The HHS System is a network of county agencies and community partners that support the well-being of all who live, work, and play in Fairfax County.